Don’t you just love those telemarketers trying to sell you stuff you didn’t ask for and don’t want?
NOT!!
This morning “Joe” called me from Whatever. He told me he’d called and left a message the week before. He told me I’d signed up for some webinar a month ago. He told me that he had a great product that would help me grow my business.
“Do you know who I am?” I asked. “Do you know what I do?”
No, he answered.
“Well then how do you think you can help me grow my business. How do you know what I need. Why are you wasting both of our’s time?”
I’m sorry I wasted 2-1/2 minutes of your time, he said and hung up.
One thing about any form of marketing is researching the business you’re trying to sell your services too. Rookie mistake IMO.
Telemarketing can work well for a business if used in the right way. For example, if someone has already shown interest in your business then giving them a phone call is perfectly reasonable.
However, I must agree with you, unsolicited telemarketing is becoming a huge problem. Not only does it annoy the customer, it gives genuine and reputable businesses a bad name. Imagine making a genuine telemarketing phone call 10 minutes after some guy has been trying (really pushing) to sell your customer new windows. Or imagine calling someone during their lunch hour when they’ve had 10 pointless telemarketing calls already that morning!
Rant over. But I completely agree something has to be done!
I agree telemarketing does need to become more personable instead of trying to trick and coerce customers in to buying their product or listening to what they have to say,. Just offer good customer service, get to know your clients, and tailor your message to fit their needs!
Hi Shari,
I hate to be a party pooper, but it is charities calling asking for donations that bug me. They don’t even know if we have given them money already! I am afraid cold calling ain’t what it used to be!
I hardly get real people calling me any more. It’s usually a recording. But the funniest real one I got not long ago was from a guy who said I had signed up on his page saying I was interested in a home business. It had been a long time since I’d been looking, so I asked him what email address he had for me. It was an old one that had been defunct for more than a year!!
I believe this same guy called me. They use these tricky ways of getting people to call them back, like, “This is so and so we talked last week and I was returning your call.” I am busy, but I know who I have talked to on the phone!
Nicole, I had to smile when I read that my guy was your guy, too. How are we going to teach salespeople that the world has changed, and they had better change with it.
Wow Shari, I’m glad to hear that you asked him specific questions. I some times let my anger get the best of me and opt out of asking basic, logical questions.